Color my World
by StarPurpleandBlue
Summary: Ace's life had always been more colorful than most due to his synesthesia, but he was used to it. It had been a rollercoaster of experiences, both good and bad ones, ever since he was a kid, so he had gotten good at facing the unexpected. Nonetheless, nothing had prepared him for his meeting with that curious stranger, neither all that came after.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is for the _Day 7: Random_ of the MarcoAce Week of this year. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to finish, so I'm only posting the first part. I think there'll be only one more chapter, two at most. The next one will take a while to appear because I have a lot to study, and there are also a few other things I want to write. But it will come, don't worry!

The inspiration for this story came a while ago when I saw a post on Tumblr about synesthesia, and I've wanted to write about it since then. I researched a lot and tried to make this accurate enough, but I've also added some little twists and elaborate descriptions to it since this is a fic, after all. Thanks a lot to _shockandlock_ and _lunarshores_ for being sweeties and helping me with a few things in the story, and to _Kaline Reine_ , who helped me understand better how this synesthesia works.

This was betaread by _lunarshores_. Hope you guys enjoy it!

 **Warning:** Description of a panic attack (if you want to avoid that part, skip from "A deep dark red flickered in his vision" until the next dash signaling a scene change).

* * *

 _Synesthesia:_

 _A rare neurological condition in which two or more senses intertwine. It is not harmful to the body, appearing to be as natural as breathing to those who have it._

* * *

Ace was tired - dead tired.

He let his backpack fall on the bench with little care and sat beside it, ignoring the startled looks sent his way at the loud noise it made. A yawn escaped his lips as he rubbed his eyes - a futile try in keeping himself awake as it had proved to be little effective during the whole morning.

It was a pity his narcolepsy never acted at times like this, since Ace would welcome with open arms an excuse to take a quick nap. Instead, he had to struggle with heavy eyes the whole morning, and by now he knew he'd fall asleep if he got too comfortable sitting or leaning into anything. That would be bad for a number of reasons - the one at the front of his mind was that he'd have to endure Sabo lecturing him for half an hour on the importance of not procrastinating finishing a project to the point he barely slept on the night before the deadline. Ace understood the importance of what Sabo said, but that didn't mean he wouldn't repeat the same mistake when laziness hit again.

Ace repeated to himself that he ought to be more productive next time, before fetching his earphones from his backpack and his cellphone from his pocket. He connected both and searched for a good song on his playlist as he put the earphones on, then pressed play with a smile.

The next second, red invaded his vision. As if someone had gotten a brush with red ink and decided to paint in the air, a red swirl formed and rolled around at the quick beat of the music, the form disappearing as the swirl kept moving through his vision. The rhythm changed, and in synchrony it unfolded into curved lines that spiked sometimes as it accompanied the music. That was all Ace needed to distract himself from his sleepiness.

Humming in synchrony with the song, he observed with interest how the red started mixing with purple as the tone changed, the colors flashing as they moved and slightly obscured a tree that Ace could see that way. Although he already knew well this song's colors and moves after seeing them many times, they never ceased to catch his attention.

Ace let himself be immersed in the beat and colors, the annoying and uninteresting noises from his surroundings being drowned. That's what he liked the most about music; it always gave him a pleasant experience unlike the sometimes overwhelming mix of voices he heard everywhere. It wasn't like all noises affected him, thankfully, but they created a bothersome cacophony.

As the last notes of the song came to a stop and the purple and red disappeared from his vision at the same time, he passed to the next one, taking comfort in the chocolate brown that came in slow twirls going up and down. Just as he started moving his head to accompany the movement of the color, he felt someone tap him on his shoulder.

Turning to look over his shoulder, Ace saw Sabo standing right behind him with a raised eyebrow. Stopping the song and pulling the earphones out, Ace sent a grin in his direction.

"I got your books for you, you should be grateful."

"Hi, good to see you too." Sabo rolled his eyes, and Ace's own followed the orange that spiked and curved with calm close to Sabo's throat. "Thanks for getting them, but uh, what's with the living dead face?"

Ace plastered an offended look on his face, and complained about 'ungratefulness' and 'how it had given him so much trouble to find the right building to get the books for his dear brother' in hopes it'd distract him - Sabo hadn't taken even five seconds to notice, it had to be a new record.

He got an amused look back from Sabo. "Alright, your highness. To show you how deeply grateful I am, I'll prepare whatever you want during my turn at cooking tonight."

Ace accompanied the wave movement Sabo's orange performed before it disappeared, then moved his eyes up to Sabo's face. "Much better. It's a deal!" He grinned cheekily, and opened his bag to get the books and leave his cell phone and earphones in there. "Let's go back home. I can't wait to get to somewhere more silent." He got up and stretched, sighing satisfied when he felt his bones pop.

"Heh, so that's why you look so tired. You spent the whole night finishing something for college." It wasn't a question. At Sabo's deadpanned comment and the almost still orange line that accompanied it, Ace cringed. Changing the subject hadn't worked.

"How did you even reach that conclusion from what I said?"

"You've been following my color the whole time we've been talking, it wasn't hard. You only do it that much when you want to avoid falling asleep," Sabo said and shrugged, then got his books from Ace and put them inside his bag.

Ace's eyes snapped from the orange that disappeared after a twirl to Sabo's face with an embarrassed smile. "Of course you'd notice that."

"Of course," Sabo agreed. "I live with you for far too long not to notice that."

"Fair enough." Ace chuckled, and they began walking towards the exit of the campus.

"We both know now's when I try to knock into your head that you shouldn't do your work at the last minute, but I need your help to buy a few things and to clean the apartment, so that should be enough punishment."

Ace stared at Sabo in disbelief, but he only received a nod back. "Why me? Can't Luffy help you this time? Also, cleaning days are on weekends, and it's still Wednesday."

"Luffy is at Zoro's place and won't be home until later. And I know that, but since gramps is coming for dinner, the apartment has to look cleaner than normal so he can't complain. Didn't we agree on this yesterday?" Ace gave Sabo a horrified look, making him hesitate for a second. "Okay, you weren't paying attention."

Ace roamed through his mind, but the conversation didn't come up. "You said that during dinner?"

"Right after it."

Ace groaned - that had been when he remembered his unfinished project due the next day. Not a moment he was very concentrated in his surroundings. "Eh…"

Ace's eyes flashed to Sabo's color, which appeared with slow wave movements when he huffed - of course Sabo would be amused. "Remembering or not, I still need your help. Luffy needs to finish some kind of homework or project with his friends, and though I talked with Robin and she said she'd make sure he got home in time, I doubt he'll finish it soon."

"Which leaves me to help and with no time to sleep." Ace sighed. "How great."

"Think positively. If we finish it quickly, you'll have time for a short nap."

Ace groaned in self-pity and ignored Sabo's chuckle, hoping that maybe his narcolepsy would be kind enough to kick in soon. Sabo couldn't make him do anything if he was dead asleep.

And so, the both of them went on their way, one complaining and the other rebuking good-naturedly. It'd be a troublesome evening, but at least he didn't have to do it alone, Ace concluded resigned, but couldn't hold back a smile as he watched Sabo's orange move about with fluid spikes while he laughed.

* * *

 _Chromesthesia:_

 _A sound-to-color synesthesia. A person hears sounds, voices and/or music, and sees a corresponding color in their vision._

* * *

Ace held back a sigh as he watched the common but tiring scene going on at the dining table, his plate already empty in front of him for a while and his stomach demanding more. He wasn't about to get up in the middle of a discussion, though, so he just kept playing with a napkin and trying to hold his tongue lest he say something in a fit and make it last longer.

It was always the same routine whenever Garp visited them. It impressed – and annoyed – Ace how Garp never failed to find something to complain about, being it how their apartment wasn't clean, something was messy or even their performance at college and school. Really, Ace didn't understand why he insisted on getting involved with their lives when they had been living in different cities for around two years. They had proved they were indeed capable of taking care of themselves, and while that happened, their deal wasn't broken, and Garp had to leave them there.

Besides, it wasn't like they used to spend a lot of time together when living in the same place besides when he taught them how to fight and defend themselves, so his constant 'worry' was unsettling and tiresome to deal with. He never cared to do it before, so why that changed now was a mystery to Ace.

"You can't expect me to understand everything! There's way too much stuff to remember, and it's hard!" Luffy crossed his arms with a frown. Ace observed the quick flashes of yellow move close to Luffy's dark hair, their shaky pattern one Ace recognized quickly; Luffy was getting angry.

"If you don't try then how are you going to know? You need to try better so you'll be accepted into a good college." Garp countered, his eyes narrowed. His color, a vivid red, barely moved from its place at the side of Ace's vision, close to Garp's neck, before disappearing with the voice. Ace avoided the urge to frown, knowing Garp was serious about the subject.

"But I am trying! You don't live here, how would you even know?!" The yellow flickered wildly. Ace's hand closed in a first.

"Look gramps, Luffy really is trying." He commented, eyes moving between his family. "He's even studying with his friends, and with Robin and Nami there, they're surely getting things done."

"He was doing that this afternoon, actually. That's why he got here late." Sabo added. His face was perfectly calm, but coupled his drumming finger and twirling and spiking orange showed Ace otherwise.

Garp stared at them for a while, seeming to analyze them with suspicion, and Ace wanted more than anything to confront him, tell him off, but he was too tired to deal with it, and he knew his brothers were as well by their postures.

Garp sighed, and Ace felt a victorious smile grow on his face. He had gotten too tired of arguing with them.

"Very well then. But you better not slack off, Luffy! I didn't let you all live alone so you could stop giving your best." He said at last. "And how's your training going?"

Ace noticed the red swirl a bit at the end, and was sure they had moved forward in the conversation definitely. This time, he let a relieved sigh escape his lips as he got up to retrieve more food, Sabo's voice sounding from behind him while his wavy orange accompanied Ace in the corner of his eyes until the kitchen.

After a while, Luffy's yellow joined Sabo's color, and they danced together in his vision before the yellow overlapped the other color as Luffy got excited and started spewing something about his last training session, the earlier discussion probably already thrown to the back of his mind. Ace smiled softly, and put more food in his plate than he knew he wanted.

Hours later, when Garp had already said his goodbye and almost crushed them with a hug – and a "light" Fist of Love "so as not to lose the habit", according to him - the three found themselves huddling together in the sofa with the TV turned on. No one was paying attention to it, though, and Ace was happy to let the voices from it fade away as he concentrated on their conversation. It was a nice habit they had created at one point in time, and it was comforting after a stressful day or moment.

With his brothers' colors dancing in his vision in familiar patterns, Ace felt himself relax and his eyelids getting heavy once again. Laying his head on one of his hands, he let himself be lulled into a much-needed sleep.

* * *

"Goddammit, I can't believe I lost them!"

Ace searched through his backpack one more time, but the result was the same as from the other times he tried. Grumbling under his breath, he zipped his bag closed, put it on his shoulder and ran a hand through his hair, allowing himself a moment to glare at nothing in particular before starting to walk again.

It was just his luck, just his wonderfully amazing luck, that he'd lose his earphones today of all days. It couldn't have been yesterday, tomorrow, or even next week, maybe never, of course it couldn't. It had to be today, the very best day for him. And just when he wanted a bit of peace…

"Yes, of course I told him that! But do you think he believed in me? Of course not, because he never does that!"

Ace flinched when a flash of bright green invaded his vision, twisting and shaking for a moment before disappearing as the girl who passed by him got distant and her voice turned unintelligible."I really don't need to hear about your life story, so can't you just speak like a normal person instead of shouting?" Ace growled under his breath, wishing he could actually say that to the girl and to a few others who went by him, but he knew it'd be an useless effort.

Ace was already used to the way his synesthesia worked - hard not to when he lived with it ever since he was born - but it didn't mean he could tame it. His habit, now seemingly stupid, of paying attention to other people's voices as a distraction when he was tired was working full speed now after a whole night without sleeping. Ace had a slight suspicion his synesthesia and narcolepsy had an agreement to torture him together, since one had made him sleep the whole afternoon yesterday then not be able to rest at night, and the other was going to annoy with too much stimulus until he got home.

"How fucking great," he hissed. He only wanted to listen to his music peacefully until he got home, what was so bad about it? Just a few familiar colors, enough to distract him and that was it. Ace sighed internally, knowing it was futile to complain to himself when there was nothing to do.

"No, don't do that. It's just plain stupid, and you know it. Sure, I know that, but-"

"Hey, did you hear about that guy who-"

Ace didn't hold a tired sigh this time as a small purple blur with flecks of blue appeared in his vision, pink swimming behind. That's why he tried to only go to crowded places when really necessary, and, if possible, using earphones. Too many people speaking at the same time, and too much attention from Ace didn't mix well together. It left him tired, annoyed, with a slight headache and even dizzy on his worst days, and he didn't need any of that today.

As he finally left the college grounds, Ace went in the subway's direction, trying to ignore the voices around him, and frowning at the loud ones that managed to get his attention. Most of the time, he was great at tuning out all the sounds around him so they wouldn't bother him, but it seemed he wasn't being good at even that today.

 _Damn prick teacher, damn annoying classmates, and damn noisy people. I should have stayed at home today._

The increasing in the flow of people around him was the first sign that he was closer to the subway, and although he was one step closer to his apartment, Ace couldn't avoid grimacing. If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to arrive home as soon as possible, he would have waited for a while longer so as not to have to endure the rush hour, even if it was closer to the end.

He went down the stairs humming a song, and sighed in relief at seeing the subway wasn't too packed with people. He paid for his ticket and entered the platform, deciding to wait in a mostly empty corner.

"Dude, I swear that teacher is evil! He definitely doesn't want to see us pass."

"He can't be that bad, you're exaggerating."

"I wish I was! The other day-"

The noise of the subway arriving seemed majestic to Ace at the moment, and as the shaky dark gray and flickering brown disappeared from his vision, he saw a wagon stop in front of him before the doors opened. Entering and making sure to stay far from the loud teenagers, Ace sat heavily on a free seat. He only had to endure for around thirty minutes here, and fifteen more walking to reach his dear home. He could do it.

Ace went back to humming inside his head when more people entered the wagon at the next station. By then, he was already feeling drained and just wanted some peace, so he couldn't even muster enough energy to feel annoyed.

With the thought that it wouldn't be much longer in his mind, Ace locked his eyes on the loose tip of his belt, playing with it as a way to distract his mind from the voices around him. He was doing a good job at that, only a few colors entering his sight to bother him, and acquired a numb sense of comfort. That is, until they reached another station and loud noises assaulted Ace's ears.

Startled, he looked up just in time to see a flock of people entering his wagon, and the already full space turned even worse. Ace offered his seat to a woman trying to hold more bags than she seemed capable of, and rested his back against the wall, barely finding a free place for himself between a grumpy woman and a man carrying a package.

A deep dark red flickered in his vision as the sounds of the woman talking with someone entered his ears, and Ace had to hold in the urge to grimace. Instead, he breathed deeply before starting to humming, adding a drumming of his fingers against his leg as further distraction.

Twirling light green, soft-moving black and a wild forest green joined the red in his vision as the conversation about a TV show three teenagers were having to his right ended loud enough for him to hear. This time, Ace didn't hold the grimace.

He changed his humming to one of the newest catchy songs he knew, but the intensity of the colors didn't fade as his concentration was half on the conversations that caught his attention one way or another.

Orange and purple flashed as Ace heard someone talk about their new cat. He felt dizzy.

Maybe it was some divine force up there that hated him, or lady luck just decided to pick on him today, but his ears seemed to perk up at any more audible sounds of voices around him. Calm pink – "around a month for my trip! Isn't that great?" -; deep blue – "no, no, I know that. I'm just telling you to pay more attention." -; bouncing bright orange – "I don't know what to do anymore. He just keeps getting sick..." -; wavy blue violet – "It's so close! I can't wait for it!".

Ace supposed he would be called nosy, even if not by option. He tried rubbing his eyes, but the color mix came back as soon as he opened them.

A shiny gray arrived at the talk of a math exam getting closer. Exam. Yes, that's right. Ace had had an exam today, and he knew he failed it. He didn't study enough, not like he wanted, not like Sabo, who spent the week only reviewing. Sabo, yeah, he should hurry home and rest there, he had gotten out of college later today, he and Luffy were going to get worried at this rate…

Bright yellow changed places with a previous wine color – something about a ladybug? He was pressed a bit more against the wall as some more people entered the wagon. _Go find somewhere else to stay, we don't need more people here!_ Ace definitely felt dizzy.

An automatic voice announced their arrival at the next station – just one before Ace's stop, just a little bit more – with an almost still green line. Ace frowned at the top of someone's head, though he was more intent on observing the colors twirling and waving and spiking and rolling around there. It might be his imagination, but he could swear there were some black, almost transparent, dots forming there. Which voice did it belong to? Then they seemed to go away.

Brown flashed on the middle of his vision, and Ace was tempted to close his eyes. Something inside him screamed it wasn't a good idea, so he didn't. Dark pink appeared – "Hold on, you're stepping on my foot!" – with black right beside it – "It wasn't me, mister. There's not much space to move, anyway".

Black. That's right, the black dots had come back. This time, Ace's eyes widened in recognition. Fuck.

The doors of the wagon opened, some people filtering out. In an impulse, Ace followed them, deciding he needed just a moment to recover from the onslaught of colors, but regretted his decision as soon as he laid his eyes on the busy station. People were rushing by him, parts of their talks making it to his ears and creating new flashes of colors only to be soon replaced by others.

Someone bumped into him, and he took a few steps back. The person turned and seemed to complain about something – Ace mostly processed the distracting mix of pink and yellow – before going back to walking.

Dark green and blue plus purple – "Really? Didn't we eat that yesterday?" -; white, grey-blue and beige – "Come on, hurry up! We're already late!".

His dizziness was getting worse.

Ace needed to find somewhere to sit until the flow of people decreased, preferably right now. He turned to his left, but different hues of brown and green blocked his view as a group of teenagers passed laughing and talking in excited tones. Ace grimaced and turned right, this time meeting soft yellow and royal blue, both moving in a quick pace.

 _Damn it._

He took a few more steps back, and jumped when he felt his back touch something. His head snapped around, but he only saw a grey wall behind him. Gray, but hardly gray. So many colors seemed to stain it; he could barely see anything else.

Someone behind him while talking about a book – violet with orange flashed in a patch of the grey wall. His breath hitched.

He couldn't see the wall, he couldn't see the wall, h _e couldn't see the goddamn wall_. He needed to get home. Sabo and Luffy were waiting for him, it was his turn to cook dinner, and he couldn't even see the wall, but he needed to get moving and get in the subway before it left him. But he couldn't see right and people didn't stop talking, didn't stop making noises and being loud and their voices were so catching and the colors were flashing-

A face appeared from between the colors in front of him. The person's mouth was moving, and Ace thought maybe he had gotten in their way, but he didn't understand them, couldn't understand, but their mouth kept moving and Ace just wanted to apologize and say _he wasn't understanding them_. A flash of red almost covered the person's face - "Stop being stubborn and listen to me!". Ace reached forward blindly, needing to hold onto something, anything, and found a warm thing – a hand? - before squeezing it.

The face was still there, and he thought he was moving for sure this time. Was the person annoyed at him? Their face didn't look angry, but Ace was feeling so dizzy right now, how could he be sure about that, so why couldn't he just apologize and get on his way? He had to go home, he still needed to cook, yes, cook, his brothers actually liked his cooking, but he couldn't see right, couldn't see the damn wall, couldn't apologize, couldn't open his mouth, but the colors still flashed and pieces of words entered his mind, and he was feeling nauseous, but he didn't have time for that...!

He felt himself sit down, and saw the person's mouth move again, this time in strange even movements. It didn't seem like words were coming out of it, they were more like… breaths?

 _Your breath isn't right. Try to do like me, breathe deeply, like this._

A deep blue swirled lazily in his vision. A memory of rare childhood trips to the beach came uncalled to his mind. Beautiful days, the sun shining with no clouds in sight, delightful moments of peace between him, his brothers and their grandpa, and the ever-present sea in the background, its waves moving in a pleasant rhythm.

Yes, that color was very similar to the one of the sea on those days. The calm and tranquil sea.

Ace found his eyes locking on that color, a calmness washing over him at the imagination of the waves. Almost in a daze, he felt himself following their lead, accompanied their breaths' rhythm, and after a while, his dizziness faded out. His tense muscles seemed to relax, and his fogged mind started clearing, allowing Ace to look at the situation once more. Realization came to him just a moment after. Fuck, I was… I was having a panic attack, wasn't I?

"How are you? Do you need anything, any medicine or the sorts?"

"Ah…" Only then did Ace realize he was feeling breathless. After a few more slow breaths, he managed to answer, hating how his voice came out shaky. "I-I'm better, thanks. I don't take any medicine, don't… don't worry."

The person – a blond man, probably quite a few years older than himself - smiled. "That's good. Don't force yourself until you're fine, please. Do you want to call someone to get you here?"

The sea-color came back, but Ace didn't mind its presence. He noticed vaguely how the other colors seemed to stay behind that one, or just disappear. The station was emptying.

"No, I'm… I'm fine. I'm not that far from home, I can do it. I just… I just need to find a good wagon." Ace shook his head slightly, and his mind finally cleared. He released the man's hand as soon as he noticed he was still holding it. "Ah, I'm sorry about that. Just… thanks."

"It's okay. I couldn't leave you alone like that." The man's soft voice brought a new wave of the calming sea-color, and Ace couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching up at the beautiful color. He noticed it fit well with the man's eyes. "You'd probably faint in a bit more."

"Yeah…" Ace rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his fingers trembling but urging them to stop. "It's been... a long time since I last had a panic attack. I didn't miss it."

"Are you sure you don't need any other help?"

Ace shook his head slightly and smiled. "No, it's alright. You've already helped a lot."

They stayed there for a while longer. Ace contended himself in just taking deep breaths and hearing the man tell him about some misadventure he once had in the subway. It was a funny story, and by the time it ended and Ace was feeling better, he realized he had lost two subways.

The man helped him up – his legs were wobbly, to his embarrassment -, and looked at him with worry. Ace waved it off with a grin.

"Thank you." Ace repeated once the next subway came and he made sure the wagon wasn't too full.

"You're welcome." The man replied, and Ace grinned at his blue curved line waving slowly. If only he could save that color and bring it home with him… It was refreshing. "Goodbye then."

And with one last flash, the color and the man disappeared as the doors of the subway closed. Ace took a deep breath and found a good free space for himself, deciding he'd just keep humming until he got home.

* * *

"Ahh, sweet freedom! No more exams for now, and no more fretting over stuff I didn't understand." Ace stretched with a grin as he walked through the corridor, the mid-morning sunlight coming from the window feeling refreshing on his skin after so long inside a cold classroom.

With a hand covering a yawn, Ace traced inside his mind the time for the classes of some of his friends, and decided it wouldn't hurt trying to find someone to keep him company until lunch. Satisfied, he exited the music building, ready to start scanning his surroundings, only to stop mid-step.

A big number of booths of different sizes spread on the grass, colorful objects seemingly on display and many people were what met Ace's eyes. He looked on in confusion for a moment before a vague memory of a poster about an art fair came to his mind. This was much bigger than he had imagined, to his surprise.

"Makes sense why Professor Brook's class was cancelled." Ace chuckled to himself before continuing on his way.

His phone buzzed inside his pocket, catching Ace's attention as he stopped under the shadow of a tree to obverse the fair - it seemed to have attracted a lot of people, and he wasn't feeling like entering the crowd now. Fetching his phone absentmindedly, he answered the call while looking at what seemed to be a clay sculpture of a bird.

"Hello?"

"Still alive, huh?"

The yellow-green colored line that swirled into his vision helped him recognize the speaker immediately. "I can't believe it either." Ace grinned, even though Apoo couldn't see him. "It wasn't that bad in the end, so I'll probably get a decent grade." He paused for a moment before adding. "I hope."

"We all do, man." Apoo laughed. "Mine could've been worse, so I'm fine with them. Anyway, wanna get a snack with us? You also have free time because of the fair, right? We're on the other side of the field, at the entrance."

Ace perked up at the mention of food, his smile widening. "Of course! I'll be there in a while."

"Try not to drown in that sea of people. Some known artists were called, and now everyone wants to see them."

Ace hummed in understanding. "I'll try not to. See ya."

Soon enough, his phone was already back in his pocket and he was making his way around the side of the fair. It was better this way, so he'd avoid bumping into people and having to look at more than just a few colors swimming in his vision – he already had new earphones, but he didn't feel like putting them on now.

Ace let his mind wander as he looked at his surroundings, happy in tuning out the voices close by and just focusing on observing. He was just passing a group of three students who were eagerly talking with a tall and finely dressed man, a few others standing close enough to listen, when he bumped into someone. He opened his mouth to apologize, but instead hissed in pain at the sudden feeling of warm liquid falling on his arm.

Shit, talk about an inconvenient wake up call. Ace quickly looked around in search of something to dry himself with, but he didn't have to worry for soon he had a few paper napkins offered to him accompanied by a voice.

"Take these, please. I am so sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going."

The voice's color danced smoothly at the side of his vision before disappearing, and Ace had just taken a few napkins when the familiar hue clicked in his mind. With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, he glanced up and found himself looking right into a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

It was definitely that guy from the subway, one part of Ace's mind supplied while the other kept staring dumbly. He knew he had just had a panic attack the last time they saw each other, but Ace wondered how he could have missed how drop dead handsome this man was, from the fitting eyes, voice-color and his actual shirt, to his strange-looking stylish blond hair. All in all, he looked dazzling, and Ace was impressed. He didn't know what the odds of seeing the same person who helped him a few days ago when he was so handsome were, but he wasn't going to complain about his luck anytime soon.

He was brought back to earth when the man asked if he was alright. "Oh, huh… I'm okay. And it's fine, I'm to blame too because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. So, I'm sorry."

The man ran a hand through his hair, bringing Ace's attention to his blond locks before it changed to his sea color-voice when he spoke again. "It's no problem. I can buy another coffee easily. It's your arm that got the worst part." He made a pause, but before Ace could answer, he continued. "Are you by any chance that… guy at the subway from the other day?"

Ace was torn between grinning, oddly glad that a hot stranger remembered seeing him once, or groaning in embarrassment that he was remembered because of a panic attack. He decided in waving with a hand full of brown stained napkins and smiling softly. "Yeah, it was me. Thank you one more time for that, and don't worry, my arm is just fine."

"Really, it was no problem. I'm glad to have helped a bit in the end." The man smiled back, and it looked just as beautiful as the rest of him.

"Actually, you helped a lot. Your voice-color is very calming, it's quite amazing." Ace only noticed what he had said after the words were out of his mouth.

"My voice-color?" The man raised a brow in question.

Ace rubbed the back of his neck, and chuckled nervously. "Ah, yeah. Voice-color. Uh, have you ever heard about synesthesia?" The confused expression he received back was enough of an answer. "I thought so." He sighed. "Synesthesia is a condition some people have in which some of their senses mix with each other. In my case, I hear voices and songs, and I see corresponding colors flashing in my vision."

"Really?" A short wave of blue. "What an interesting thing. I had never heard about it. By the way, I never introduced myself. I'm Marco." A hand was extended to him.

"Ace," he grinned and shook it. Bingo, now he had a name. "And most don't. It's not like it's a disease, so less of a reason for people to know it. It's not bad, most of the time it's fun discovering people's colors. Ah, but it does have its bad sides sometimes and-" he was starting to rant. Time to shut up. "My bad. When I start talking about synesthesia I can go on for a long time."

Marco didn't seem bothered, if his amused smile was any indication, so Ace relaxed a bit.

"I don't mind it. It's very interesting to know about it, actually." A curious expression adorned Marco's face. "What happened in the subway had anything to do with it, by any chance?"

"Ah, yes." Ace frowned at the remembrance, before shaking his head when Marco apologized. "Don't worry about it. It had to do with my synesthesia, but it hadn't happened in a long time, so it's weird remembering. I've gotten better at tuning voices out, but I guess it was a bad day for me."

"So it only works when-"

And so, to Ace's surprise, they kept talking. Marco seemed genuinely interested, and Ace felt well being able to share some of his experiences. It had taken him many tries and failures in trying to explain what he saw and what he felt that it was satisfying seeing someone get it and want to know more.

The talk didn't stop there, straying after a while to the fair, art and much more. They had already taken a sit on a bench nearby when someone, who Ace recognized with surprise as the finely dressed man from before, interrupted them with a sorry smile and a tap to Marco's shoulder. Only then did Ace realize he had been keeping Marco occupied without even knowing if he had something else to do.

"Do you study art here?" Marco asked after exchanging a few words with the man.

"Art no, music yes."

"Then we'll probably see each other again soon. I'm going to give some lectures the next few days and do a job in the campus as well." Marco's smile and words got Ace grinning.

"Really? That's great!" He couldn't bring himself to feel embarrassed at his eagerness. "Are you by any chance one of the artists invited here today?" He chuckled.

"Actually, yes." Marco laughed at Ace's bewildered look, who had to take a moment to process what he just heard.

"Geez, and I've been keeping you here all this time! I'm sorry about that." Ace sent an apologetic look at Marco, who shook his head.

"That's not a problem. I stayed because I wanted, and it's not like I had anything urgent to do too. I have to go now, though. The music section isn't far from the art one, I think, and that's where I'll be. See you, then."

Ace's grin came back in full force and he waved in goodbye, watching Marco's back retreating to somewhere in the middle of the fair. He was startled out of the reverie he had fallen into when his phone started buzzing, and he groaned. He had forgotten about his friends.

The buzzing stopped before he could answer, so Ace hurried towards his earlier destination, deciding it was better to call back without losing time, and a content smile fell back on his face. His first batch of exams had ended, and he had met – this time properly - a very interesting man. Yeah, he had had a very good morning indeed.

* * *

The next time Ace saw Marco wasn't in the art section, somewhere close to it, or even at college at all, but at the market. He had decided to go buy the few things he and his brothers needed before the beginning of the next month in Sabo's place since, although it wasn't his turn, he pitied Sabo's big pile of books and papers to study. It also helped that he was bored.

Nonetheless, even if Ace thought this would be a good enough distraction for his lazy morning, he never imagined he'd see Marco there, and so soon at that. He decided, inside his mind, that it was justified how he almost let the chips bags fall from his arms when he took out one earphone and saw the familiar sea-hue, albeit a bit darker, float at the side of his vision as a voice reached him. Even if the woman passing by him seemed to find his startled expression funny.

Exasperated, Ace dropped the bags inside his shopping cart and turned to the other snacks with a huff, making a mental note to train better his outward reactions. He chanced a look to his side after some seconds of staring at the shelves absent-minded, and found Marco a bit down the corridor.

He looked just as stunning in his casual clothes as he did in the finer ones, and his blond hair was still as beautifully kept, but something seemed wrong in the whole picture. Years of honing his observation skills through wondering why some people's color changed slightly at times got him the ability to pinpoint details easily, so Marco's tense posture wasn't hard to notice, even with his blank expression.

Seeing it on Marco's face bothered Ace.

He took a step forward, wanting to go to him – to do or say what, he had no idea -, when Marco turned slightly and the cell phone in his other hand became visible.

Ace hesitated. Whatever it was that upset Marco wasn't his business as a stranger, because even if they'd talked for a while, that's what they were to one another. Ace knew he wouldn't have liked someone butting in his problems without being invited. Sure, he could just go there and talk about something random, but maybe Marco would prefer to be alone.

Ace turned to the snacks with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He fetched one of the chip bags from the shopping cart and compared it to another that seemed better, proceeding then to glare at the earlier chosen at seeing it was more expensive. He put the new one inside the cart, and organized the position of everything before sighing again.

He probably seemed like a weirdo, standing there doing useless things while trying to decide if he should approach or not. He didn't like ignoring people when he noticed their colors were wrong. Sometimes it was nothing, the change in their voice not meaning much, but other times…

Ace's hold on the cart tightened. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Damn it all._

It wasn't his place, and maybe he would just be a nuisance, but he was going to pass by and wave in case Marco looked at him. If he let Marco's reaction choose for him whether he should stay or not, it wouldn't be bad, right?

He glanced at Marco once again, but he had lowered his voice, making it impossible for Ace to see his color again and be certain that it was indeed wrong. He was sure, his mind supplied, he knew what he had seen. He wouldn't make the mistake of getting it wrong, no, he wouldn't.

Leading his shopping cart down the corridor, Ace relaxed his hold and put an ease smile on his face. He readied his arm in a mechanic way to rise and wave at the smallest sign a look was going to be directed at him, and willed his mind to stop reminiscing ( _"No, NO! Wait!" "That can't be right, what's going on?!" " **Hey** -"_) because that wasn't what he needed right now. And so, he kept on walking with an even pace-

-only to stop abruptly as Marco took a step backwards and got in his way.

He winced at the loud clank the cans made when falling on each other, and thanked his earlier organization of the cart as otherwise it could have been the bottles of glass clinking dangerously together.

"I'm so sorry about… Ace?" Ace wanted to sigh at the dark shade of the sea-color that appeared in slow wave movements. Not a mistake, indeed.

"Oh, hi!" He gave a soft smile, though he was certain it looked more tired than anything else. "I don't think anything broke, so it could have been worse."

Marco's blue eyes scanned Ace's shopping cart before he nodded. Ace absently noted that his cell phone wasn't anywhere in sight anymore. "Seems so. Either way, I'm sorry." He looked apologetically at him, and his color swirled close to his face as if to highlight it to Ace. "I should have paid more attention to where I was moving, especially in a market."

Ace remained in silence in silence for a few seconds, a stray thought entering his mind, before snorting. "It seems like every time we meet, something like this happens."

Marco seemed surprised, but then a small laugh escaped his lips. "You know what, you're actually right. We should find a way to fix that."

Ace felt himself relax when he saw some of the visible tenseness on Marco disappear. "We should, or next time you'll definitely find a way to break something."

"Maybe I'll make you drop whatever you're holding at the time."

"It better not be my acoustic guitar, or I'll have my revenge, and it'll be sweet."

The laugh they shared at the silliness of their conversation made Ace relax fully, and he felt like patting his shoulder inside his mind at seeing Marco had too. His voice-color was still wrong, but as Marco laughed, it seemed to have regained its energy to dance and wave around.

"As strange as it seems, this reminded me of a book I read not long ago."

"A book?" Ace raised an eyebrow. "What, the person almost created an accident whenever they met someone?"

"Almost that," Marco rolled his eyes. "They were unlucky in general, but when they met knew people it reached a whole new level. It was pretty funny. Oh, and there was a mythical reason of sorts behind all those problems."

"Heh, so it's a fantasy book." Ace straightened in curiosity. "You like those sort of books then?"

"Pretty much. I try to read a bit of everything, to be truthful. It's nice to change styles according to what you want at the time. And you?"

Ace took a moment to realize Marco had asked a question, as he was staring at his color dancing on his vision. Maybe he could call it stormy-sea, to distinguish it better from the original one. It was beautiful in its own way, but Ace still felt uncomfortable at seeing it with the knowledge it brought bad news with it. "I don't read all that much," Ace shook his head to clear his mind. "But fantasy is one of my favorites. I think I just love the idea of extraordinary things being something possible in them."

"It is a very nice aspect of the genre." Marco smiled, and then his expression turned pensive, almost melancholic. "The impossible happening, miracles existing… It's all a very nice thought."

Ace left a weak chuckle pass through his lips, one of his hands moving to hold onto the cart again. There it was, that tenseness was coming back, and Ace didn't like it. At all. "Yeah, but to all good things there are also bad ones. Fantasy has a lot of that."

With that, he started a conversation about some books and movies he liked, using them as examples and urging Marco to participate. He highlighted the funny parts for him, and the 'sitting-on-the-edge-of-the-seat' ones as well, and it didn't take long for Marco's face to light up again as he contributed with examples as well, getting enthusiastic when they both found a few common favorites to discuss about.

Ace supposed a market wasn't the best place to stop and have a conversation like that, but he had done that in worse places, so he didn't mind. After a while, they simply started going through the corridors together, gathering what each of them still needed, before going to the cashier, words and soft laughs still being exchanged in the meanwhile.

Ace could say he was feeling lighter when they exited the market, and by the wavy and lightening dark blue, he guessed Marco was as well. Ace felt quite proud at himself, and the sheer contentment coursing through him made him comment about it.

Marco's confused look was expected, and Ace tried to avoid the urge to facepalm. Why the hell did he have to talk about it now?

"It's just, you seemed so worried earlier, and now you look a bit… better?" Ace finished unsure, and winced mentally when a distant look appeared on Marco's eyes.

"Oh…" The small wisp of blue wasn't enough for Ace to notice it's exact hue, but he hoped he hadn't screwed up by making Marco remember what was bothering him. "It's… it's nothing you have to be concerned about. It'll be okay, I'm just… worried, I suppose."

With Marco's hesitation, Ace knew that wasn't the word he meant to use. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Marco surprised him by smiling at him. The sincerity in it froze Ace. "Thanks for worrying about me, though. It's a very nice thing of you. Most wouldn't care enough to waste their time trying to cheer someone up."

Ace felt his face reddening at the acknowledgment, but he grinned nonetheless. "I wouldn't call it wasting my time. It was nice seeing you again."

Marco hummed, and Ace noticed it had darkened a bit, though it was far from the hue from earlier. "Hey, what do you say about we continuing our conversation in a coffee shop near here? Their desserts are delicious."

Ace perked up at the mention of food, before stopping and processing what was said to him. A soft smile grew on his face, and he decided he didn't mind carrying the heavy bags for a while longer. "I'd like that."

* * *

The time seemed to fly afterwards.

That day passed quicker than Ace would have liked, but he ended up getting to know more about Marco than he expected. They weren't able to finish their conversation - which morphed from books and movies to story making in genera, productions and different styles of art - so they decided to meet on another day.

Days turned into weeks, and Ace found himself surprised by how often he met Marco during that time. Being it somewhere at college, or in one of their random conversation days, Marco had turned into a frequent presence in his life. He was a good friend, a very hot one, but Ace was fine with the way things were.

It didn't stop at that.

Weeks became months, and sooner than Ace thought possible, the semester had ended, his summer vacation had begun, and Marco's time working at the college ended. Ace got the opportunity to meet some of Marco's many siblings - he was baffled at discovering the other man from the day at the fair, Izo, had been one of them - and introduced Marco to his brothers as well as some friends. With his group of friends having gotten bigger, college giving a break, and a growing closeness with Marco, things couldn't have been going better.

It was around then that Ace finally realized his feelings for Marco, which had been turning strangely unclear with time, could be different from friendship, that maybe they had developed into something more. With one last push from a silly romantic movie he watched on the television one day, he was certain.

He had fallen head over heels for Marco.

* * *

"Okay, spill it. What's with you?"

Ace stopped mid-hum and tsked in annoyance as orange entered his vision, disrupting his concentration. He looked up and saw Sabo leaning against the doorframe of his room, determination radiating from his posture.

"What do you mean?" Ace raised an eyebrow in question.

"You know very well what I'm talking about." Sabo rolled his eyes, and his voice-color wavered almost in synchrony.

"Yeah!" Luffy's yellow was barely a warning before a blur jumped towards him. Ace only had time to take his acoustic guitar out of the way before Luffy bounced on the bed, a big grin on his face. "You have this weird look on your face all the time like you're concentrating!"

"True," Sabo hummed in agreement, his orange bouncing beside his head, before approaching them and sitting on the bed beside Luffy's lying form. Ace almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, for there went his free time to compose. "You're also playing all the time."

"That's not weird," Ace rebuked. "I study music, of course I play a lot."

"But you only do that more than usual when you have stuff on your mind and want to forget it." Luffy's yellow swirled before uncurling and almost stilling, matching his suddenly serious face. "So what's wrong?"

Ace took the moment to watch his brothers' faces, both serious and with a hint of worry, and sighed. Of course his brothers had noticed, he shouldn't have expected anything less after so many years. "I suppose it's only right to tell you. It's a bit complicated, but... Well."

In a few minutes, he finished telling his story, about how he discovered his feelings for Marco had changed and was now unsure on what to do - even if he should do anything. The big and excited grins on his brothers' faces weren't expected, much less the mischievous look exchanged between them.

"What?" Ace blurted out, suspicious.

"We're just glad you finally understood your feelings." Sabo explained, and his orange waved as if in excitement.

Luffy nodded, close to bouncing in his place on the bed. "And we can to help you!"

"What...?" Ace repeated, looking at them in disbelief.

Another look was exchanged before Sabo crossed his arms and Luffy latched onto Ace's. "We have a plan! We're going to help you get Marco."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ Yes, I'm back after months. I didn't mean to take so long, really. Many things happened while others are still holding me back, which is why I decided to cut this chapter short instead of holding it for who knows how many more months. I wish I could post the next one quicker, but I know that won't be the case with my exams coming and my new job. It will finish this no matter how long I take, so no worries about that.

This chapter is more of a build up of some of what's coming, but I hope you'll enjoy it! In the meanwhile, I'd love to know what you think will happen and what you're looking forward to seeing happen :)

Betaread by lunarshores. Thank you!

* * *

 **Books mentioned:**

The Psychology of Colors - by Eva Heller.

The Secret Language of Colors - by Joann Eckstut, Arielle Eckstut.

"One had a young girl riding a polar bear with a starry sky as the background" - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

"the other had 'Toby Alone' written with leaves above a white background and tree branches at its top and bottom" - Toby Alone by Timothée de Fombelle.

* * *

Ace walked past a bookcase, running a finger along the book's spine. He skimmed their names with little interest and picked one or two to look at their summaries before placing them back. It wasn't long until he reached the end of the aisle, and he proceeded to the next one at his right with a tisk and the despondent realization that soon he'd go over all bookshelves without anything catching his attention.

Ace cursed the bookstore for being boring, then quickened his pace when an old man carrying some books frowned at him. He stopped at the next aisle and took his time checking the time on his phone, but instead of helping, it had him biting his lip in frustration.

Twenty more minutes.

Why did Ace think it was a good idea to leave home so early? There was no traffic on Sunday mornings; he had doomed himself to waiting.

He should've gone to the café instead. There he could focus on a couple of voices here and there, be discreet as he observed their colors moving while ignoring the rest until they were nothing more than noise; it'd be a sure way to distract his mind. If only he didn't grow anxious the more he looked at the time, maybe he could've stood waiting at a table, but instead his legs kept walking until he was inside this annoyingly silent bookstore -

An "excuse me" had Ace moving to the side to make way for someone to enter the aisle. He turned to the bookshelf behind him in hopes of finding a distracting book he so needed, but wrinkled his nose when he noticed he was in the studying section ranging from the anatomy of the human body to diseases.

"What to do, what to do…" Ace murmured to himself, going back to roaming around, observing the colors, thickness and titles of the books he passed by, noticing how the theme changed to psychology after a while.

He could always get his earphones and distract himself with music, but he didn't want to risk losing the time and being late for his meeting with Marco. Ace could imagine Marco giving him a smile and saying it was okay, as if the delay didn't bother him –and it probably wouldn't. Ace knew only he was to blame for his paranoia and excessive worry when it was just one of their usual meetings.

He rubbed his sweating hands on his shorts and grimaced. If only his body and mind could agree with reason, it would be easier to wait.

Leaving the anatomy section behind, Ace tapped his fingers in a distracted manner against his leg and ran his eyes by more titles. He crouched and picked the closest book in front of him, one with stripes of many different colors on its spine, and blinked in surprise.

" _The Psychology of Color_ ," Ace read and passed his thumb above the title. He looked back at the shelf, and similar names greeted him back. "Well, would you look at that?"

He flipped through a few pages, and to his surprise, he found an immense array of colors, graphics, and tables, followed by explanations. It was a book explaining about colors' effects and their meanings.

He'd looked for books like this when he was younger, but he didn't understand half of what they said; obviously none had stuck a cord. Ace shrugged and flipped to a random page.

 _Psychologically opposite colors:_

 _1) Red – Blue_

 _Symbolic contrast: Active – Passive; Warm – Cold; Noisy – Silent._

 _2) Green – Violet_

 _Symbolic contrast: Natural – Unnatural; Realistic – Magic._

The list went on with more contrasts and other pairs of colors. Pictures were added to the mix in later chapters, and there was even an interesting section talking about polar areas and different types of white.

Ace got up, curiosity burning inside his mind. After a quick mental debate, he fetched a few more books with similar names and brought them to the closest table. Inside, despite few differences in what they addressed, they differed a lot in organization, graphics and even applications, and Ace wondered how much the explanations from each book would differ, if there would be a general agreement between the authors regarding any part of the subject.

He entertained the idea of finding one that mentioned something about synesthesia, or at least one that shared his opinion about colors. Would that even be possible? It was a nice thought.

A hand fell on his shoulder. "Ace?"

Ace whirled around, startled, with the book on his hand poised to hit someone, ignoring the color that splashed at the far side of his vision. He froze when his leg hit the table by mistake and winced at the noise of quite a few books falling from the table and from the arms of a very surprised Marco.

Marco?

"Wha-" He gaped. "Marco! Oh, shit."

There went his objective of being calm when meeting him.

In a second, he was kneeling and helping Marco gather the fallen books, a bright blush decorating his face.

"I thought we had stopped this habit months ago," Marco said.

"Me too," Ace said with a chuckle. "I suppose it was my fault this time."

"No, it's partially mine too. You weren't expecting me to show up." Marco put some of the books back on the table, and got the other two Ace was holding. "Thanks."

"No problem. You came here to buy some books?" Ace asked, and cringed internally. Way to state the obvious.

"Yes. These are for my young sister," Marco showed him two books. One had a young girl riding a polar bear with a starry sky as the background, and the other had 'Tobias Lolness' written with leaves above a white background and tree branches at its top and bottom. They seemed familiar, and Ace wondered if he had ever read them before. "She asked for these long ago for her birthday, but I wasn't able to buy them."

"So Haruta likes reading."

"Mostly fantasy books, but yeah."

Marco smiled, and Ace grinned back, remembering one of their first talks from months ago.

"And you?"

"Oh, I was just taking a look around. These are interesting," Ace said, and he put a hand above the pile of books he picked.

" _The Secret Language of Color_. They're about colors?"

"Yeah. This one in particular seemed good." Ace picked the first he had found from the pile. "I found it randomly, but maybe I'll buy it. The others aren't bad, so I don't know. I'm not so sure it's worth it."

"It's hard to say if a book is good or not after a quick look, but if you're really interested, you should risk."

"Yeah, but… I want to choose the right one. The one that's "most right" in what it's saying so I can see if I agree with it. I'm no specialist in psychology, but I do have a deeper view on colors' meanings than most people."

"Because of your synesthesia," Marco said, his sea color-voice twirling next to his head and bringing out the blue from his eyes. Ace felt his heart skip a beat as he watched Marco flip through a few pages humming in interest here and there, and he wondered how it had taken him so long to notice his feelings. This had happened before, but it was the first time Ace didn't dismiss it.

"The authors seem to try to cover many areas while talking about colors, so maybe you'll find something interesting with a more scientific explanation."

"Maybe. It'd sure be nice to have a clue on why I get some feelings because of the colors."

"You _get_ some feelings?"

"Not in the literal way," Ace said. He rubbed the tip of his nose when Marco put the book back in the pile and turned all his attention to him. "It's a bit hard to explain, but sounds, notes, voices – they all have colors or mixes of them, as well as a movement and fluidity. Sometimes they change tonalities. That's all part of my synesthesia, but, in a way, I can see more, I think?"

Ace sighed, leaning against the table. "I don't know for sure. There are meanings to what I see, to how the colors are, and they just click and make sense depending on the person. I've seen plenty of greens in my whole life, and they can be harmonious, very resigned, or even show growth. It's weird, but I can notice that somehow… That's why I wonder if someone else understands the same, or if I'm just crazy. Or imagining things, or over-thinking."

"You're not." Marco frowned, and his color zigzagged above him. "I can't say I understand how it is, but you think that for a reason. Those feelings, do you know if they're actually correct? If they can be connected to the person for real?"

"Sometimes, yes. Other times, they're off."

"Ever completely wrong?"

"…Not that I remember," Ace said with a shrug. "I didn't give it much thought until a few years ago, and it's not like I try analyzing people by their voice-color."

"Still, it's a possible theory until proven wrong," Marco said, nudging Ace's arm.

"I guess..."

"That's quite amazing, if I may say so. It's like a whole new world you can explore." Marco looked at him with a soft smile and something akin to admiration shining in his eyes.

Ace's movements stilled, and his half-grin froze on his face at the look, the tug at his heart making itself present again. Aside from his family, and sometimes his close friends, Ace wasn't used to people showing such genuine interest in what he rambled about his synesthesia, and yet, here was Marco, not merely hearing him, but listening. Then that look… Ace felt his face heating up whilst his stomach flipped, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and let the grin fully form. "Hmn, I suppose it is."

"Back to the books, why don't you wait? Search other titles, and look at the reviews. You'll get a better idea of which ones are considered good, and if you decide to buy one of those, you can compare your opinions."

"That's probably the best solution," Ace said. "Thanks, Marco."

"Anytime. Hey, do you mind keeping me company while I buy these?" Marco raised his two books. "We can go to the café after."

Ace gave him a thumbs up. "Sure. Then you can tell me about your trip."

"Of course. It was short and I was working most of the time, so there isn't much excitement, I'm afraid. Oh, by the way-" Ace looked at Marco in curiosity as his sea color flashed brighter at the end of a twirl. "-there's going to be a party at my father's house next weekend, and you're invited."

"A party?"

"Yeah. Blenheim's birthday is coming soon, and it wouldn't be my family if they didn't want to make a big party to celebrate. I know you don't like crowds, so I'm telling you there'll be a lot of people, but it'd be nice if you could go. I think Izo invited Robin, and you can bring some friends if you want."

There was a small pause.

"What do you say?"

Ace looked at Marco's expectant face just as his voice-color disappeared, and the words were out of his mouth before he could even think. "Sure."

"Great!" Marco's smile widened. "I'll give you the address later."

After that, the subject changed to airports as Marco mentioned the start of his trip, but Ace's attention was only half on the conversation.

The other half was on controlling his haywire mind.

A party, a birthday party. At Marco's father's house.

Ace didn't know whether the churning of his stomach was because of excitement, nervousness or expectation. Maybe all three.

The memory of his brothers and their conversation a few days ago came unbidden to his mind, and their so-called plan didn't seem more tempting than now. It was a simpler thing now that Ace was part of it, and consisted of his friends meddling and finding ways to get Ace and Marco alone as often as possible. They got any info needed, found the places, and then it'd be all on Ace's behalf.

Now, with this party coming…

He had his chance.

* * *

"Are you done?" Ace deadpanned as he leaned against the side of his desk. Strewn all across his bed, on the table and on the chair beside him were clothes of all kinds and colors, and Ace was suspicious some in this mess weren't even his.

"We are."

"Definitely. It's perfect now."

"It does look good, after all."

"Hey, Sabo, aren't those your pants?"

Ace rolled his eyes at the array of green, red purple, orange and yellow that twirled on his vision, the colors curling around each other before disappearing. He gave the just chosen clothes a dubious look before looking up and sighing at Luffy's beaming face, Sabo's certain nods and Nami's and Robin's smiles.

"You're all way too excited for this."

"Of course we are! The plan is finally being put into action." Sabo said, and he raised an eyebrow at the same time his orange voice-color made an arc above his head. "Shouldn't you be excited too?"

"I am! I'm just…" Ace rubbed his neck. "How can I explain?"

"Nervous?" Luffy offered.

"Yeah," Ace murmured with a grimace. "I guess."

"It's common to feel like that." Robin's green curled and uncurled slowly into a wave, the calmness in the action the perfect fit for her voice tone. Robin's voice color had always been one Ace appreciated ever since they first met, its tranquility being grounding to him.

"It's awful, that's what it is. I haven't felt like this because of a party in years."

Ace regretted saying so two seconds after the words were out of his mouth, for Sabo's eyes lighted up and he started singing "Can you feel the love tonight?" from the Lion King, leading Luffy to do the same, and soon they were both dancing around the room, singing off tone with orange and yellow circling them. Nami and Robin shared a glance before Nami took Robin's hand to join them, and Ace was dragged into it right after. Even with his reluctance and tries to shut his brothers up, it didn't take long until he was laughing and being pulled to waltz – badly - with Luffy.

"Shut… up," he said between gasps, and then glared at them, but his mouth twitching into a smile ruined the effect. "Thanks, though."

"We're part of the plan committee, so of course." Nami winked. "You'll call us your best friends by the end, you'll see."

Ace scoffed. "Right. I'll be doing most of the work."

"Only because you stopped being dense. We'd be great cupids, and we're still helping you look handsome for Marco."

"Not like I can't do that on my own," Ace grumbled under his breath.

"Anyway." Sabo cleared his throat, interrupting whatever Nami was going to say next. "Since you're in on the plan, we don't have to exaggerate on romantic situations, but it really is on you to get Marco. We'll still give you as many opportunities as possible, so it's not like your only chance is tonight. Follow your timing."

"The plan is sort of recyclable, too, so it'll be okay."

"We can try as long as it's necessary," Robin said, her green mixing with Luffy's yellow as he shouted "Yeah!".

"Go take a shower or whatever, and get dressed. We'll get going." Nami walked around the room fetching a few clothes and putting them inside a bag Ace hadn't seen was there.

Robing put a hand on Ace's shoulder. "We won't take much longer than an hour to get back."

"I'll be ready by then."

"See ya."

"Bye bye!"

They waved goodbye, Sabo accompanied them to the door, and not long after, Ace only had his brothers and a smaller mess of clothes to keep him company inside his bedroom. He lasted for as long as it took for Luffy and Sabo to talk about dinner, but then the reality of who he was planning on flirting with that night fell heavy on his shoulders.

With a groan, Ace let himself fall on his bed, making sure to miss his chosen outfit, and covered his eyes with one arm. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven, probably."

Ace murmured an "oh, okay" in answer before falling silent.

Nothing was said for a while, and just as Ace thought his brothers decided to leave him to his thoughts, the mattress tipped near him.

"What's wrong, Ace?"

Ace opened his eyes, looked at Luffy's frowning upside down face, and sighed. "I don't know…"

He pressed his lips in a thin line, and glanced to the side. All Ace knew for sure was that the thought of screwing up felt terrible, no matter how much he told himself it was just be a crush.

Maybe it wasn't just a fleeting thing this time.

Ace groaned again.

"Not knowing can be quite scary at times," Sabo said, his voice coming with a steady twirling orange. "But you'll never know if you never try, right?"

"Right. Live your life with no regrets. Yeah." His motto, and yet…

Ace saw from the corner of his eye Sabo and Luffy exchanging a glance before Luffy poked his cheek.

"What?"

"You're wrinkling your forehead." Luffy mimicked what Ace supposed he looked like, and with his yellow color splashing in the background, it made for a funny sight.

"You're too tense. You need to relax," Sabo added. "And I know it's easier said than done, but you're not going to accomplish anything like this."

"I know, but it's…" Ace sighed through his nose. "I really, really don't want to screw this up."

What would happen if he did? He cherished Marco's friendship, and creating an awkward atmosphere between them would be awful at best.

At least, according to Robin, who knew Izo – and what a surprise it was that the man from that fair so long ago was Marco's brother and worked with Robin – Marco had dated men in the past, so there was a chance. Ace was several years younger than he was, though, so would that be a hindrance? Would Marco ever look at him with feelings different from friendship?

Too many questions, too much overthinking. Ace was acting stupid.

He had never acted quite like this before.

"You won't! 'Sides, we're here to help you."

"You're not alone, you can count on us, you dummy."

Ace hands clenched on the bedspread. Yellow and orange mixed in his vision, and when he looked back, Luffy and Sabo were regarding him with seriousness and determination.

"Mm-hmm," he murmured at last, and a smile grew on his face at the twins nudges from his brothers.

Try or you'll never know. It was of no use getting so overworked when he needed all his confidence for this. "Alright. Thanks."

It'd be fine. He had a line of success in getting past flings, this would be the same but with the intent of getting something lasting. He just had to discover what worked with Marco.

"By the way, how many people know about this plan?"

"Not many."

"Everyone!"

Ace raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Which one is it?"

"Well… There's us, Nami and Robin, and Koala discovered through them."

"I think Usopp and Kaya know too. Then there's Sanji, Zoro, Franky-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough. Geez."

"Not everyone is helping with the plan, though." Sabo put a hand on Ace's shoulder as if to comfort him, and Ace glared at him.

"And I was the last one to know. Great. You're all terrible. I hope you know that."

"But you still love us," Luffy sing-sang, and his yellow voice-color bounced in synchrony.

"Somehow," Ace said, then sighed dramatically before pulling Luffy down by his neck and messing his hair, earning an indignant "Hey!" as he struggled to get free. "But I'm still getting back at you for thinking of doing this behind my back."

"You'll be eternally grateful when it works."

Ace snorted, then there was laughter ringing in the air and colors dancing in his vision, and it was one of the most reassuring sights he knew.

* * *

Whitebeard's house was bigger than Ace could have ever imagined.

When he and Robin entered the fancy neighborhood, Ace got the picture of a nice two-story house like Garp's had been back in their old city. The image was shattered when he discovered the address he was given was of the most outstanding one in the dead-end street, and a feeling of inadequacy overcame Ace all of a sudden. Wearing a buttoned navy shirt and common dark pants didn't seem smart enough for the occasion, despite his initial thought being the opposite.

"Shall we go?" Robin asked, bringing Ace's attention from the house and back to her. Robin's deep green color-voice fluttered near her shoulders as if it had no hurry, the movement soft as leaves swaying because of a breeze, and Ace let out a breath he didn't notice he had been holding.

Robin wasn't dressed smart either, yet the long purple dress and high-heels she was wearing fit her with grace. Ace remembered Luffy once questioned how Robin's elegant looks seemed so natural, and Robin answered, amused, with a wink, "The way you hold yourself does wonders." Even if it wasn't an advice, Ace took it to heart, and it was satisfying seeing it work and help in the most different situations. From flirting with his first crush, to helping hold his face as he bullshitted through his first college presentation, it did wonders, so Ace knew from experience that with smart clothes or not, he could still impress others.

He was being ridiculous once again. He knew all that, and he had an idea Marco's family couldn't care less about his clothes from what he knew of them. Stupid.

"Yeah."

"Your nerves are on edge," Robin commented, and Ace couldn't agree more as his stomach did a backflip as they neared the open entrance door. "It'll be fine. I'm here to help, but I'm sure you'll be fine by yourself."

And yet here he was, hesitant and overthinking until he was almost a nerve wreck. As obvious as his brothers' plan was now that Ace was in on it, the help in getting alone with Marco could be the kick-start he needed to deal with his newfound inability to be smooth.

"I know. Thanks." Ace shot her a smile, grateful it was Robin with her quiet understanding personality accompanying him, and she nodded back.

They walked in silence after that. Ace's stomach didn't feel as queasy as before, allowing space for anticipation to build – despite everything, he looked forward to seeing Marco tonight.

It wasn't until they were close to the main door that Ace noticed there was music playing, an old nostalgic song that brought a mix of mustard yellow and dark green to the right side of his vision in quick puffs. He had time to prepare for the onslaught of voices, but as Blenheim opened the door and an undeniable noise of chatter reached his ears, it wasn't enough to stimulate his synesthesia.

"Glad ya could make it," Blenheim said.

"We wouldn't miss it," Robin said.

Ace nodded. "Of course. Happy birthday, even if it's a few days early."

"Thanks. Just don't forget it on the actual day." Blenheim laughed. "Come on in."

As they passed through the entrance hall, Ace looked around in search of Marco, but instead of finding him, he was faced with a crowded large living room – it had a cozy look: colorful furniture, walls full of paintings, some of which Ace recognized as Marco's style, a corkboard filled with photographs and a few crayon drawings, light fixtures and a wooden round table filled with snacks and drinks. Compared to the expensive and fancy furniture Ace had imagined he'd find, this was a nice surprise. Definitely different from Garp's old house.

Ace waved at a few acquaintances and friends he saw, and accepted a can of beer Robin picked when he was distracted. He still couldn't find Marco.

"Surprised?"

Ace turned to find Blenheim still there.

"Surprised?" Ace asked.

"By the interior of the house."

"Oh." Ace gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah. The outside fooled me."

"Don't worry, most people think the same. Pops is a simpler man than one would expect from someone living here. The big space is more of a need with as many siblings as we have."

"Marco said something about that. There's always someone staying here for one reason or another, right?"

"Besides our youngest siblings still live here." Blenheim nodded. "Haruta was asking about you a while ago, by the way."

"It's been awhile since I've seen her. Where is she?"

"She's with Marco, upstairs. She wanted to show him something, I think, but feel free to go search for them."

Bingo.

He exchanged a look with Robin, and a grin broke out on his face when she winked.

"Thanks, Blenheim."

He now knew where to go.


End file.
